I'd say the lower crux is definitely 12b. The upper crux - the blunt arete just below the P1 anchors - I'm less sure about. Originally it seemed very difficult to me, so I would have gone with 12b here also. But, its technical and balancy instead of strenuous. With practice on a specific sequence it now doesn't seem nearly so difficult. This crux was not at all intuitive to me. Now I'd say perhaps 11c/d - but still not really sure.

"Those that looked up from afar thought that the mountain was crowned with storm. Thunder they heard, and lightning, they said, smote upon Celebdil, and leaped back broken into tongues of fire. Is not that enough? A great smoke rose about us, vapour and steam. Ice fell like rain. I threw down my enemy, and he fell from the high place and broke the mountain-side where he smote it in his ruin. Then darkness took me; and I strayed out of thought... more >>

Comments: Onsighted Sep-4-2010. The crux - though very short & easy to protect - seems 10c to me. It felt very tenuous - harder than Bombs Over Tokyo. My partner wanted to hike the day after Oz, but when he got back late afternoon Saturday I suggested we do a quick run up DNWF of Lembert. We linked the first two pitches, but did the last two separately - probably a good thing, as rope drag on the 10c finger crack crux, or the 5.9 slab at the top would not have been fun. I think we did the route in somethi... more >>

Comments: Onsighted while climbing with Ed Henicle on our first day in the Meadow - Sep-3-2010. The 10d crux (face-climbing on crimpy knobs) pitch is very well-bolted - its almost a sport/gym route - probably would be 11a in our gym. Super-topo says the dihedral takes lots of 1 inch cams - not the same as BD #1. You want alot of #0.5 BD C4s (purple). I'd say protecting the start is PG13 (with G being 100% straightforward). We decided not to do Gram Traverse though - trad-leading at my limit un... more >>

Comments: Climbed this route on Sat, Jun 5 2010 with Jack Ziegler. I led P1 & 3, Jack led P2. I'll claim the onsight, though I did hang once on P2 while removing my partner's pro. In any case, Jack and I both onsighted all the pitches we led. The middle of P1 was wet - runoff from the falls, I guess.

Note that after the leader pulls the crux, they should put in a left directional for the second, as the top-of-P3 anchors are way around right. Otherwise the second risks a mighty big pendulum.

Comments: Got back to BHMG today, and decided to try to lead Morning Thunder - bagged the redpoint. The pro is better than I thought it would be, but still a little tricky. Up until the first bulge the back of the chimney is thin, but in a few spots does take small nuts. I don't know why the guidebook says to bring pitons - whats up with that? I was able to protect the route well with a set of nuts, tricams and doubles up to BD #2. I'd recommend two #3s & two #2s for the anchor. One will... more >>

Comments: Bagged the redpoint on this excellent 10d (one of the best at JT?) Oct 24 2009. I used minimal pro with long slings over the easy hand-crack (approach) section and had no problem with rope drag (of course _had_ I fallen there it might have not been so great... - but the hand-crack is super-easy). This was my third ascent and the second on lead - benefited greatly from previous experience protecting the 10d finger-crack section - it eats up finger-sized stoppers great. This time I racked all my f... more >>

Comments: On a cool winters day these cracks - although they are pretty short - can be a nice place to climb in the sun and out of the wind. I would call this a 10c - the crux felt significantly harder than that on Tinker Toy or Taxman, which are rated 10b in my guidebook.

Comments: I climbed this route as a second pitch to Straight Shooter. Contrary to other comments here, I found it not too difficult to protect with two very small stoppers (I think I used a #2 and #3) - I had to, as I fell _alot_. I couldn't get even my finger tips into the super-thin crack, so I lay-backed it off one side of the crack and then tried to reach high for a finger-lock where the crack opens wide enough. However, I'm short and the right foothold is very tiny - almost a smear. I cou... more >>